Our History

Keeping Up Appearances Since 1935

How It All Began

In 1930, an Akron, Ohio, tire manufacturing plant fell victim to the Depression and closed its doors. Acting upon the suggestion of one of his sons, the now unemployed manager at this plant, David A. Burns, Sr., moved his family to Seattle to find new employment opportunities.

The Burns family’s interest in professional cleaning came purely by accident. While managing a Seattle apartment building, a pail of wall cleaning solution was spilled on a wool area rug by Mr. and Mrs. Burns, Sr. They quickly absorbed as much of the soapy spill as they could. A next day inspection of the rug revealed a clean spot where the cleaning solution had been spilled. Both Dave Sr. and Dave Jr., who was employed as a custodian in a downtown office building, decided to apply this experience on a full-time business basis.

As their rug cleaning expertise and capabilities grew, D. A. Burns & Sons tackled Oriental rugs and added carpet repair and upholstery cleaning to their growing scope of services. Recognizing the need for carpet edge finishing treatments, the Burns family responded by offering carpet binding, serging and fringing services. With the advent of wall-to-wall carpeting, the firm followed with the on-location cleaning of installed carpet.

Continued Growth

D. A. Burns continued to grow during the 1970’s through the acquisition of two other cleaning service companies, and the enhancement of its carpet workroom services. In 1976, as the first step in succession planning, Dave invited a non-family partner, Richard Dix, into the business. Richard has served as the company’s president, acquiring ownership in 1977. Dave and Richard developed a very rewarding personal and lasting relationship. Although Dave passed away in 2006, at age 91, the service tradition continues.

Expansion of Our Services

As the greater Seattle area has grown, D. A. Burns has grown with it. To meet the challenges of increased traffic congestion, two income families, and higher service expectations on the part of the consumer, D. A. Burns opened a satellite office in suburban Bellevue in 1988. The satellite strategy is to make our in-plant cleaning services more accessible with a second location and offer savings to our customers through our “cash & carry” pricing program.

As leather became a more popular choice for upholstered furniture, D. A. Burns responded by adding leather cleaning and conditioning to its family of services in 2004. With the business acquisition of Blue Sky Stone and Tile Care, stone and tile care services were added to our scope of services in 2016.

D. A. Burns has grown to become a leading Northwest carpet, specialty rug, upholstery, stone and tile cleaning firm, as well as a specialist in custom carpet fabrication, accent edge treatments and expert rug repair and reweaving. We have long been trusted to service highly valued, care-sensitive textiles, including the expert repair of Oriental and specialty rugs.